A South Florida mother and her son have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an armed robbery of $750,000 worth of gold jewelry just over a year ago, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Lourdes Diaz, 56, and her son Julian Flores, 25, both of Naples, Fla., were arrested in early October 2023, approximately two weeks after the brazen, broad daylight heist.
The owner of a salon that also sells jewelry in Hialeah was loading a suitcase containing a large amount of gold jewelry into a parked vehicle in mid-September of last year when Diaz backed up a rented SUV from a nearby parking spot.
Flores then hopped out of the back seat — brandishing a gun and wearing a ski mask — and attempted to grab the suitcase from the owner.
When the female victim attempted to resist the robbery, Flores struck her body “multiple times” with the revolver, prosecutors said.
The struggle went on until Flores fired his revolver at the ground and was able to snatch the suitcase from the woman. He then hopped back into the SUV and Diaz drove away from the scene.
The attack was caught on camera and police arrested Diaz on Oct. 2, 2023. He was wearing some of the stolen jewelry when police took him into custody, officials said.
After Diaz’s arrest, his mother hid the rest of the jewelry in the home of one of Diaz’s close associates. She was arrested the following day near that residence, and a subsequent search warrant recovered the remainder of the stolen gold jewelry.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian accepted Diaz’s guilty plea to Hobbs Act robbery and related charges. Flores entered his guilty plea to the same charges on Tuesday.
They each face a maximum term of life in prison. Their sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled.
